.........We couldn't believe when we rented the apartment in Rome that it would be sitting right on top of a "gold mine" --- some ancient Roman ruins!! These were within a block from our apartment! But naturally, the greater part of the Eternal City IS ancient, so that shouldn't have surprised us so much. After all, we got an apartment right in the historic center to make it easier to see everything. (And it took me nearly 2 months of searching online to FIND just the right apartment in Rome and Venice too!) So we set out to explore these less famous ancient ruins right in "our backyard", and here I am to take you on a guided tour, along with Settimio and our old friend MARCO, who was SO happy to see us again. (BELOW) . He took off considerable time from his job to spend many days with us, and we'll always be very grateful to him for that, as well as everything else he and his wife, Giacinta did for us.

NOW A FEW WORDS ABOUT OUR APARTMENT: It had 3 big rooms ( one double bedroom plus a sofa bed in living room) and a small bathroom. The worst part about it was that there were NO windows at all, and the shower stall was SO small that if you dropped the soap or shampoo, you literally could not bend over to pick it up! The BEST thing about the apt. (in a truly ancient building) was it's excellent central location and its decor, arched ceilings lined with original looking ancient bricks and oriental carpets. It also had a kitchen corner with refrigerator and microwave, which came in handy for breakfast sometimes. Oh, and the very best thing of all was the price: $150 per day, which is a real 'steal' in Central Rome!! Of course, it took me over one month of constant internet searching to finally find one like this, as most were already booked up 4 months in advance. But if anyone could find a good deal in Rome or anywhere, it would be ME ! Finding ways to save money has always been one of my many passionate hobbies!! This is something you all ought to know, to understand why I talk about prices so much in this 'Journal' about Italy. Getting an apartment rather than a hotel in Rome and Venice was the best solution for the 4 of us, and more economical.







.........The 2 cats sleeping on the red car above, so near the ruins, may be OLD, but they're not ancient ---- at least I don't think so!) I was always on the look-out for Roman cats, who are famous for sleeping on cars, in the ruins and everywhere else. On our second day here I petted one who came up to us, because he seemed so friendly, until I discovered that he had a "dark side"! LOL I guess without food for him, I was still the enemy! I think after this I'll stick to petting my own gentle and precious Persian cats!!